Cleaning Tool For Laundry Drying Machine

ABSTRACT

A cleaning tool for a laundry drying machine includes: a pad member having a first surface and a second surface; a cleaning member attached to the first surface of the pad member; one pair of bolt members vertically coupled to the second surface of the pad member; and one pair of nut members coupled to one pair of bolt members.

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTORS

The inventor of the present application is the inventor of patent publication, “Cleaning Tool For Laundry Drying Machine,” published on Feb. 2, 2021 as Korean Patent No. 10-2211427, one year or less before the effective filing date of the present application, which is not prior art under 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(1)(A).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a cleaning tool for a laundry drying machine, and more particularly, to a cleaning tool for a laundry drying machine that is capable of cleaning the dust and contaminants attached to an outer peripheral wall located on the outside of a drum of the laundry drying machine.

Background of the Related Art

A laundry drying machine is configured to blow hot air heated by means of a heater into a drum in which laundry is accommodated to thus dry the laundry.

A device for sensing quantity of dust in a drying machine is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-0479076 (issued on Mar. 17, 2005). The device serves to sense the quantity of dust accumulated onto a filter to notify a user of a filter cleaning time.

A clothes dryer is disclosed in Korean Patent Application Laid-open No. 10-2006-0066970 (dated on Jun. 19, 2006). The clothes dryer can clean foreign matters like dust accumulated onto a hot air exhaust duct.

The above-mentioned conventional laundry drying machines provide many conveniences because they can be easily cleaned.

As the laundry drying machine is used for a long time, however, contaminants like dust may be accumulated onto the outer peripheral wall located on the outside of the drum into which the laundry is accommodated. The accumulation of the contaminants onto the outer peripheral wall can be suppressed through the improvements in the structure and operating method of the laundry drying machine, but basically, the contaminants cannot be prevented from being accumulated onto the outer peripheral wall located on the outside of the drum.

So as to remove the dust and contaminants accumulated onto the outer peripheral wall located on the outside of the drum, the case of the laundry drying machine, which is fixed to the front surface of the drum, has to be separated. The separation itself is inconvenient and requires a lot of time, which fails to perform proper management like cleaning for the laundry drying machine. As a result, the laundry drying effectiveness becomes deteriorated, and due to the separating work, further, parts like bolts, the drying machine case, and so on may be damaged or broken.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems occurring in the related art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning tool for a laundry drying machine that is capable of cleaning the dust and contaminants attached to an outer peripheral wall located on the outside of a drum of the laundry drying machine.

To accomplish the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, there is provided a cleaning tool for a laundry drying machine, including: a pad member having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; a cleaning member attached to the first surface of the pad member; one pair of bolt members vertically coupled to the second surface of the pad member; and one pair of nut members coupled to one pair of bolt members.

According to the present invention, desirably, one pair of bolt members is fitted to holes formed on a drum of the laundry drying machine so as to allow hot air heated by a heater of the laundry drying machine to be blown into the drum toward the inside of the drum from the outside of the drum, and one pair of nut members is fastened to one pair of bolt members at the inside of the drum, so that when the drum rotates after the cleaning member has been mounted on the drum, the cleaning member rubs the dust and contaminants attached to an outer peripheral wall located on the outside of the drum.

According to the present invention, desirably, the cleaning member is separably coupled to the pad member. In specific, Velcro members are located on contact surfaces between the pad member and the cleaning member in such a manner as to be coupled to each other. In addition to the first surface of the pad member, Velcro members are disposed on edges of the second surface of the pad member, and the center portion of the Velcro member disposed on the cleaning member is coupled to the Velcro member disposed on the first surface of the pad member, while the edges of the Velcro member disposed on the cleaning member being coupled to the Velcro members disposed on the edges of the second surface of the pad member.

According to the present invention, desirably, the cleaning member is made of microfibers.

According to the present invention, desirably, the cleaning member includes a base made of a fabric and a plurality of microfiber protruding portions having the shapes of rods formed by the protrusion of the microfibers from the base.

According to the present invention, desirably, the pad member is made of a plastic material.

According to the present invention, desirably, so as to be coupled to the pad member, each bolt member includes a head locked onto the first surface of the pad member and a body vertically extended from the second surface of the pad member in such a manner as to pass through the pad member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cleaning tool for a laundry drying machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are exploded perspective views showing the cleaning tool for a laundry drying machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a laundry drying machine onto which the cleaning tool of FIG. 1 is mounted;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are perspective views showing the cleaning tool of FIG. 1 that is mounted on the laundry drying machine; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a cleaning tool for a laundry drying machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 2B, a cleaning tool 10 for a laundry drying machine according to the present invention includes a pad member 100, a cleaning member 200, a pair of bolt members 300, and a pair of nut members 400.

The pad member 100 may have free shapes, but desirably, it has a shape of a rectangular plate. For example, the pad member 100 has a size 10 cm×40 cm or 10 cm×80 cm. Further, the pad member 100 may be made of free materials, but desirably, it is made of a plastic material, particularly polyvinyl chloride (PVC). As will be explained below, the pad member 100 desirably has a given degree of softness so as to enhance a degree of contact with a drum 20 of the laundry drying machine as will be discussed later and to prevent the drum 20 from being damaged when it is coupled to the drum 20. If the pad member 100 is too soft, in this case, the entire portion except the portions fixed to the drum 20 by means of the bolt members 300 and the nut members 400 may be undesirably sagged. Accordingly, the pad member 100 has a given degree of hardness or softness so that it can be tightly coupled to the drum 20, thereby avoiding occurrence of sagging and preventing the drum 20 from being damaged.

The cleaning member 200 is attached to a first surface 102 of the pad member 100. In this case, desirably, the cleaning member 200 is separably coupled to the pad member 100. In specific, Velcro members are desirably located on contact surfaces between the pad member 100 and the cleaning member 200 in such a manner as to be coupled to each other. In addition to the first surface 102 of the pad member 100, in this case, desirably, Velcro members (not shown) may be disposed on edges of a second surface 104 of the pad member 100. The second surface 104 of the pad member 100 is the surface opposite to the first surface 102 of the pad member 100. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6, a center portion of the Velcro member 520 disposed on the cleaning member 200 is coupled to the Velcro member 510 disposed on the first surface 102 of the pad member 100, and the edges of the Velcro member 520 disposed on the cleaning member 200 are coupled to the Velcro members disposed on the edges of the second surface 104 of the pad member 100. Accordingly, the pad member 100 and the cleaning member 200 can be more firmly coupled to each other so that the cleaning member 200 can more easily rub the contaminants attached to an outer peripheral wall 30 as will be discussed later located on the outside of the drum 20.

The cleaning member 200 is desirably made of microfibers. In specific, the cleaning member 200 includes a base 210 made of a fabric and a plurality of microfiber protruding portions 220. In this case, the microfiber protruding portions 220 have the shapes of rods formed by the protrusion of the microfibers from the base 210.

One pair of bolt members 300 is vertically coupled to the second surface 104 of the pad member 100. In specific, each bolt member 300 includes a head 310 locked onto the first surface 102 of the pad member 100 and a body 320 vertically extended from the second surface 104 of the pad member 100 in such a manner as to pass through the pad member 100, and accordingly, the bolt members 300 are coupled to the pad member 100. The body 320 is threaded. The head 310 is desirably flat to its maximum degree so that it cannot become an obstacle when the Velcro members 510 and 520 are coupled to each other.

One pair of nut members 400 is coupled to one pair of bolt members 300. Desirably, the nut members 400 are wing nuts or knob nuts so that they can be tightened by means of a user's fingers, without the use of any tools, when they are coupled to the bolt members 300.

Now, an explanation of a process of mounting the cleaning tool 10 for the laundry drying machine according to the present invention onto the laundry drying machine so as to clean the laundry drying machine will be given with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a laundry drying machine onto which the cleaning tool of FIG. 1 is mounted, and FIGS .4 and 5 are perspective views showing the cleaning tool of FIG. 1 that is mounted on the laundry drying machine.

As shown in FIG. 3, the drum 20 in a typical laundry drying machine serves to accommodate laundry thereinto and rotates by means of a motor (not shown). The drum 20 has a plurality of small holes 21 formed thereon. Hot air, which is heated by a heater (not shown), is introduced into the drum 20 to dry the laundry accommodated into the drum 20.

On the outside of the drum 20 is provided the outer peripheral wall 30. The outer peripheral wall 30 has a cylindrical shape, like the drum 20. On the outside of the outer peripheral wall 30 is provided a drying machine case 40. Under the drum 20 is not disposed the outer peripheral wall 30, but is disposed a filter 50. Under the filter 50 is formed a filter lower space.

The laundry put into the drum 20 is dried by means of the hot air, while the drum 20 is rotating. Together with evaporated water and air, in this case, the dust and foreign matters attached to the laundry pass through the holes 21 formed on the drum 20, move to a space between the drum 20 and the outer peripheral wall 30, and are transferred to the filter 50. In this case, a cap (not shown) located on the front surface of the drying machine case 40 is open to separate the filter 50 through the filter lower space, so that the dust and foreign matters collected on the filter 50 are removed. The filter 50 from which the dust and foreign matters are removed can be mounted and used again. The water and air from which the foreign matters are filtered through the filter 50 are discharged to the outside by means of a blowing fan (not shown).

In this process, on the other hand, the dust and foreign matters attached to the laundry are accumulated on the outer peripheral wall 30 located on the outside of the drum 20. The dust and foreign matters accumulated on the outer peripheral wall 30 can flow back during the drying process of the laundry to thus make the laundry contaminated, and accordingly, the outer peripheral wall 30 has to be cleaned periodically.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning tool 10 for the laundry drying machine according to the present invention is located on the drum 20 of the laundry drying machine so as to clean the outer peripheral wall 30. In specific, one pair of bolt members 300 is fitted to the holes 21 formed on the drum 20 toward the inside of the drum 20 from the outside of the drum 20, and one pair of nut members 400 is fastened to one pair of bolt members 300 at the inside of the drum 20, so that the cleaning tool 10 for the laundry drying machine can be mounted onto the drum 20. So as to mount the cleaning tool 10 for the laundry drying machine onto the drum 20, in this case, the cap located on the front surface of the drying machine case 40 is open to remove the filter 50 through the filter lower space, thereby being accessible to the drum 20. As a result, the cleaning tool 10 for the laundry drying machine can be simply mounted onto the drum 20, without any separation of the front surface of the drying machine case 40.

Further, the filter 50 may be located on an inlet of an air exhaust path, without being located under the drum 20. In this case, if the cap located on the front surface of the drying machine case 40 is just open, the access to the drum 20 can be achieved.

If the laundry drying machine works after the cleaning tool 10 has been mounted onto the drum 20, the drum 20 rotates. If the drum 20 rotates, the cleaning member 200 of the cleaning tool 10 for the laundry drying machine serves to rub the dust and contaminants attached to the outer peripheral wall 30 located on the outside of the drum 20. Accordingly, the outer peripheral wall 30 of the laundry drying machine can be cleaned. Further, the laundry drying machine may rotate manually, not automatically.

If old contaminants are attached to the outer peripheral wall 30, they may not be gently removed only through the rubbing operation of the cleaning member 200. In this case, if the cleaning member 200 rubs the outer peripheral wall 30 after a solvent like water or alcohol has been sprayed onto the cleaning member 200, the old contaminants can be more gently removed.

The cleaning tool 10 for the laundry drying machine according to the present invention can simply perform the cleaning work for the laundry drying machine and can reduce the cleaning time, thereby being convenient in use. Further, the cleaning tool 10 for the laundry drying machine according to the present invention can collect the dust and contaminants generated from the laundry drying machine onto the microfibers of the cleaning member 200, thereby being efficient in removing the dust and contaminants accumulated onto the outer peripheral wall 30, and can prevent the laundry drying machine, particularly the drum 20 from being stained again with the dust and contaminants, thereby improving the cleaning effectiveness.

In addition, the cleaning tool 10 for the laundry drying machine according to the present invention can separate the cleaning member 200 from the pad member 100 by means of the Velcro members 510 and 520, so that after the cleaning, advantageously, the cleaning member 200 can be easily cleaned or managed.

As described above, the cleaning tool for the laundry drying machine according to the present invention can be mounted directly on the exposed drum after the cap of the laundry drying machine has been open to remove the filter through the filter lower space, without any separation of the complex drying machine case fixed to the front surface of the drum, so that while the drum is rotating, the cleaning member can rub the dust and contaminants attached to the outer peripheral wall located on the outside of the drum. Accordingly, the cleaning tool for the laundry drying machine according to the present invention can simply perform the cleaning work for the laundry drying machine and can reduce the cleaning time.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A cleaning tool for a laundry drying machine, comprising: a pad member having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; a cleaning member attached to the first surface of the pad member; one pair of bolt members vertically coupled to the second surface of the pad member; and one pair of nut members coupled to one pair of bolt members, wherein one pair of bolt members is fitted to holes formed on a drum of the laundry drying machine so as to allow hot air heated by a heater of the laundry drying machine to be blown into the drum toward the inside of the drum from the outside of the drum, and one pair of nut members is fastened to one pair of bolt members at the inside of the drum, so that when the drum rotates after the cleaning member has been mounted on the drum, the cleaning member rubs the dust and contaminants attached to an outer peripheral wall located on the outside of the drum.
 2. The cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member is separably coupled to the pad member.
 3. The cleaning tool according to claim 2, further comprising Velcro members located on contact surfaces between the pad member and the cleaning member in such a manner as to be coupled to each other.
 4. The cleaning tool according to claim 3, wherein in addition to the first surface of the pad member, Velcro members are disposed on edges of the second surface of the pad member, and the center portion of the Velcro member disposed on the cleaning member is coupled to the Velcro member disposed on the first surface of the pad member, while the edges of the Velcro member disposed on the cleaning member being coupled to the Velcro members disposed on the edges of the second surface of the pad member.
 5. The cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member is made of microfibers.
 6. The cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning member comprises a base made of a fabric and a plurality of microfiber protruding portions having the shapes of rods formed by the protrusion of the microfibers from the base.
 7. The cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein the pad member is made of a plastic material.
 8. The cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein so as to be coupled to the pad member, each bolt member comprises a head locked onto the first surface of the pad member and a body vertically extended from the second surface of the pad member in such a manner as to pass through the pad member. 